Absinthe Frappé

The most famous of all American absinthe preparations. A song named after it and about it, from the 1904 Broadway operetta 'It Happened In Nordland' written by the renowned Victor Herbert, was so scandalously popular that it helped to instigate absinthe's demise in the Unitied States! For the lyrics to this song, see Glenn MacDonough 1867-1924, who wrote the words to the music.

Preparation:

Pour a large shot of absinthe into a tall glass containing plenty of crushed ice, top up with ice water and shake or add sparkling water. A spoonful of sugar or simple syrup* can be added to taste. Frappé (pronounced 'frap-ay') can have two meanings: in France, it is 'to serve ice cold' and in the USA, to serve shaken with ice or partially frozen.

*Simple syrup: Boil a pot of water, take it off the heat and stir in one pound of sugar to each half pint of water until completely dissolved. When cooled, pour into bottles for keeping. Simple syrup can be easily used as a substitute for granulated sugar or cubes.